Six Years Ago

Six years ago on this date, February 19, 2010, Terence had a test that changed our whole family’s lives. Terence hadn’t been feeling very well and the doctor at the Air Force Academy clinic had ordered some blood work.  The numbers came back odd so the doctor said he would like to have a blood doctor look at him, a Hematologist. We didn’t think anything of it. None of us had ever been very sick, so Terence went on his own that Friday. After another blood test, the doctor decided he should do a bone marrow biopsy.  The doctor still wasn’t concerned, but said he would do one just to be sure and he could fit Terence in during his lunch break.  Terence called me and I decided I should probably be there when they did the biopsy, so I met Terence at the doctor’s office.  When the nurse called Terence back we decided I would go in with him.  It was much worse than I imagined and I ended up going to stand outside the door so I wouldn’t pass out. The doctor said it could be a few days before we would hear anything, so we went home and really didn’t think too much about it. The next afternoon, February 20 (Saturday), I remember Terence, Jennifer, Brian and I were watching the winter Olympics on TV and Terence got a phone call.  It was the doctor on call for the clinic that Terence had went to.  Terence took the call upstairs and after talking a couple minutes he called me upstairs with him.  Our life changed in that minute. The doctor said that Terence had Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and he needed to be in the hospital on Monday for about a 30-day treatment.  I remember all four of us being in shock and praying together.  Zachary was only three at the time, so he was still napping.

In the moment I kept thinking why us? What did we do to deserve this disruption to all of our lives? Because all of our lives did change.  My parents moved into our house to help keep us going during that time since I was at the hospital every day and Zachary needed care. During this initial time in the hospital, so many people made us meals and helped us in many ways. Still it is easy to feel so alone, but we knew that God was with us. The company that Terence works for, Tier1 Performance Solutions, have been like a family to us and supported all of us during this very difficult journey. Terence was in the hospital in Colorado Springs for 30 days to start that first treatment in February 2010. He would have four more week-long treatments in the hospital that year. After completing all the treatments in September 2010, we were told he was in remission.  Terence had really grown spiritually through everything and he knew God loved him more than he had realized before. Jennifer graduated from college and Brian from High School that May. We were so thankful that Terence was well enough to be involved in all the graduation activities. Brian entered the Air Force Academy in June and Jennifer started teaching 8^th grade English in the fall.  In October Terence felt better and he and I went on a cruise to have some time to recover from this journey together. We moved on with our lives, because we were told Terence had a very treatable form of AML and he was cured.

In February 2011, at a routine blood check for Terence, we found out that the AML had come back.  It was so hard to believe because this time Terence felt really good—they had caught the leukemia much earlier.  The only treatment option for a re-lapse of AML was a bone marrow transplant.  We met with a specialist in Denver and were told that the treatment had a 50/50 chance of being successful, but decided to move ahead.  Terence’s sister, Bonita, ended up being a perfect match, which is a miracle because finding a match even in a sibling has only a 20 percent chance. The bone marrow transplant doctor in Denver told us we would need to relocate close to the hospital in Denver since we lived more than 30 miles away, so we went through the process of finding a place to live and moving up to Denver.  Terence and I had talked and each of us had one thing that we felt we needed to make it through this next round of treatments.  Terence wanted me to still be able to visit him frequently and I didn’t want to have to leave Zachary in Colorado Springs, so my parents moved with us to Denver to be able to help with him once again.  Jennifer and Brian were both now established in their lives, so we were only able to see them when they could work it out. As a mother I knew they were both adults and they would be fine on their own, but I also felt God was asking me to once again give both Jennifer and Brian to God’s care and trust Him to work in their lives.  I had to believe that He loves them both more than I ever could.  We moved to Denver the first of April 2011 after Terence had had more chemotherapy in Colorado Springs to prepare him for the bone marrow transplant. I remember the day before the transplant was to take place in Denver, it was beautiful outside and Terence was really struggling with why he had to go through all of this when he seemed to feel fine.  Zachary was not going to be able to see Terence for 30 days during transplant. Children were not allowed on the bone marrow transplant floor. Before transplant, Terence wrote in his journal and prayed that he would live to see Brian graduate from the AF Academy and to walk Jennifer down the aisle someday. This second time around God helped me realize how much I needed Him and He gave me such amazing peace. I remember the very anticlimactic moment on the evening Terence received the transplant, April 11^th, when the bag of bone marrow was delivered to Terence’s room from his sister, Bonita.  It was very late in the evening after there had been some difficulty collecting the blood from Bonita. It had been very hard on her, and she had sacrificed so much for her brother to save his life.  The doctors were amazed how well Terence did given the circumstances and Terence ended up being released on my birthday, April 29^th. After a few setbacks, once again Terence was given a very confident report that he had come through miraculously and he could go on with his life.

During the time we were in Denver, Jennifer met an amazing young man, Andrew Lee, through a series of miracles. Once again God answered prayer and Terence got to walk her down the aisle on May 5, 2012. Terence and I celebrated our 25^th wedding anniversary on May 30, 2012 in Maui, HI.  Brian graduated from the AF Academy on May 28, 2014 and then married a wonderful young lady, Kaitlyn Weber, three days later on May 31^st.  Zachary was growing up and continued to be a wonderful joy to our lives. Caleb Philip Lee, our first grandchild, was born on November 11, 2013 and added so much excitement for all of us. Our life once again was back to normal. 

In April of 2015, Terence elected to have minimally invasive back surgery after about 6 months of dealing with pain and numbness in his left leg.  He also noticed a spot that had swelled up on the right side on his face and the ER doctor said it was probably a bug bite, so we didn’t think anything of it.  On the way to a follow-up appointment with Terence’s back surgeon at the end of June, Terence got light headed and just about fainted in the parking lot walking in to see the doctor (he had just driven to Boulder from Colorado Springs). We told the doctor what had just happened and she said Terence’s back looked great and shouldn’t be causing him to feel this way. Right away she determined something else was going on and she wanted us to head immediately back to Colorado Springs to get an MRI and she didn’t want Terence to drive.  We got something for lunch and Terence just about fainted again while standing in line for our food.  By the time we got to Terence’s doctor’s office in Colorado Springs it was too late for them to fit in an MRI and they called ahead to a local ER to get the MRI done.  When the ER doctor came in with the result of the MRI we knew something wasn’t right.  She said that Terence had a massive tumor on the right side of his brain that was causing the swelled spot on the right side of his face.  She said it looked like a Meningioma, a benign brain tumor. We went to a neurosurgeon in Colorado Springs a few days later and the doctor said that because of the location of the tumor, Terence would need a more specialized surgeon and recommended that we go to a neurosurgeon in Denver.  On July 29^, 2015 Terence had brain surgery.  Jennifer, Brian, my parents, and I waited that day for what seemed very long—a 9-hour surgery. The nurse called when the surgery was done and that the doctor would like to talk with us.  When we met with the doctor he said he had gotten as much of the tumor as he could, but that it didn’t look like a typical Meningioma tumor and we would have to wait for the results from pathology. It took much longer than the doctors expected, but a few days later when the results came back they had found that leukemia had crossed the blood-brain barrier and had come back. The tumor was leukemia and they had found leukemia in the spinal fluid as well.  The doctors said this was a very rare type of leukemia re-lapse in the form of a tumor. The team of doctors put a plan into action and Terence began radiation and chemotherapy to eliminate the rest of the tumor that could not be done surgically. Terence also had spinal taps where they inserted chemotherapy to eliminate the leukemia found in his spinal fluid. Near the end of the treatment plan, Terence had a severe reaction and ended up in ICU.  Even in the midst of Terence’s recovery God blessed our family with a second grandchild, Eleanor Lynn Lee on September 7, 2015.  It was so wonderful to experience such an amazing gift from God in the midst of a very difficult time. Terence’s recovery has been very long and challenging this time.  We don’t know what will happen next.  Sometimes it is hard to dream again because we don’t know if our journey through leukemia is forever over.

Once we found out about leukemia coming back in Terence’s brain we have really felt that this third round of cancer was not only for our spiritual growth, but for those around us. This time has been much more difficult on Zachary.  It is hard to understand why he should have to deal with such big issues at a young age.  I’ve prayed that he will not be bitter with God, but see God through all that is going on.   During the days of Terence’s recovery and treatments this last year I have spent a lot of time reading the book of Psalms.  I wanted to find a way to praise even when things were hard and David writes a lot about that in the book of Psalms. Each time the leukemia has come back it has been progressively more serious and has caused us to have to lean into God even more.  I was listening to a talk that the late Elizabeth Elliot gave today in which she talks about suffering.  Hebrews 5:8 says, “Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered.” This verse is talking about Jesus and that he had to suffer to learn obedience. Mrs. Elliot says, “In the gift of suffering God gives himself to me.”  She also said, “When we don’t understand just bow before a mysterious God.”  This may not make sense why we would have to suffer, but I know that when life doesn’t throw as many hard things in my path, it is easy to grow self-centered and think I don’t need to rely on God as much as I should. In the midst of the worse days watching Terence suffer, I discovered a real presence of God and that he gave me such an amazing peace? “In Acceptance Lieth Peace.” 

In reflecting over the last six years I can look back and say, “Why not us?” God wants to give our family a special gift, if we choose to accept it.  He has given us the chance to get to know His amazing love and care in a very real way. I have a yearning for Him like I’ve never known in all the years before 2010. I know that heaven is real and happiness is only forever in heaven.

Terence is traveling for business this week and will be home tomorrow morning. It is amazing to see him be able to do that again even if he isn’t all the way back to 100%.  After all he has been through I know that it is a miracle he is able to do his job again.  During the bone marrow transplant we read the book of Job and even now I pray Job 42:12 for Terence, “the Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part.” I’m looking forward to what God has for us even if the blessings don’t look like what I would think best.  I have faith to know that “God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

No Evidence

On this date four years ago, we moved up to Denver and I was admitted into the University of Colorado Hospital to undergo bone marrow transplant for leukemia. It was a dark time, and although we had great faith, this was an unknown journey. I went up to that same hospital today to do my annual labs to confirm leukemia is all gone. It is often that I do these labs around Easter each year and realize the deep connection between what Jesus did for me spiritually and what happened physically in bone marrow transplant. This understanding I have is only because heaven has whispered this insight in incredible ways.

As some of you know, my donor was my sister Bonita. She was a perfect match for me. A miracle in just that event. The goal of bone marrow transplant is to be 100% donor converted in your bone marrow. That is, it is typically not a good outcome to have both diseased stem cell DNA and donor stem cell DNA mixed in the bone marrow. Every year I get my labs done, the clinical staff does a very complete blood panel. One of the tests is to see if there is any evidence of my diseased blood DNA. With a female donor, there is one easy way to check that. We all have 23 pairs of chromosomes with the gender chromosome listed as an XY (male) or XX (female). In my case, the result comes back as 46 XX. That means 23 pairs of chromosomes with the gender chromosome now an XX (female). But here is the line of the lab result that always impacts me: “no evidence of pre-bone marrow transplant host disease.” You see, right before I accepted my sister’s stem cells, the hospital took a sample of my bone marrow with diseased leukemia in it. And now when they do this test each year, they compare that sample from April 2011 to the current sample. What this result means is that this test has the ability to see if there is any of the diseased marrow left in my body and the conclusion is absolutely not! There is no evidence of the former diseased blood. So here is the spiritual insight.

Even if you are not a Christ follower, you have probably heard, especially around Good Friday and Easter, messages about the blood of Jesus. And at some point might have even heard things like “being washed in the blood,” “being born again,” and “how Christ forgives us of our sins because of the blood sacrifice he did on the cross.” These are all hard concepts to understand and certainly very strange language. As a Christ follower, I really never understand the deepness of these concepts, until my own bone marrow transplant.

When we accept Christ into our lives and he forgives us of our sins, he is essentially giving us a spiritual bone marrow transplant. We are taking on his identity by accepting him as Lord of our lives. 2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us this: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” How can that be, you ask? It is just like the lab test I receive each year that says, “no evidence of your previous disease.” The evidence of that test essentially shows that I have my sister’s blood DNA composition. When we accept Christ, God now looks upon us and sees the spiritual DNA composition of Jesus. He doesn’t see our previous diseased life! Our old life has been made pure by Jesus. That is the spiritual bone marrow transplant that Jesus does for us. We are new just as 2 Corinthians 5:17 says it: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here.” Several years ago I seemed to hear God say to me, “Don’t you think if I can design your body in such a way and give medical science the ability to do this miraculous transformation of the physical blood that I can figure out a way to do the same transformation in the spiritual realm?” I was blown away by that thought.

And this story is made even more powerful on Easter Sunday when Jesus came back to life and now transforms us every day. We get the gift of his identity and our old diseased life is gone. There is no evidence of it when we are truly transformed by the blood of Christ and what he did on the cross for us. I hope you will think about that this Easter weekend.

Amazed by His Love,

Terence

Forgiven

Zachary (our 8 year old) and I are in an Easter production at our church called The Thorn (http://thethorn.net/). We have sat in the audience for this amazing story and drama about the life of Jesus. A few years ago, after Zachary watched it with us, he said, “Daddy, can we be in The Thorn some day?” Working out schedules and plans, we are able to do it together this year. We are part of the general crowd that witnesses the miracles of Jesus as well as his death and resurrection portrayed in this amazing story.

It has been an amazing experience for both of us as we are involved in the miracles of Jesus. As he heals the sick, a blind man, a young girl who is dying, and many others, I am in awe of the love shown by this son of God – Jesus. Another moving part is when an adulterous woman is brought to Jesus and all of us are yelling, “stone her, stone her.” She is thrown down on the floor and Jesus walks up to her, talks to her, and forgives her. All of us in the crowd and the Pharisees are stunned that he would do such a thing (at least that is our role we are acting out). This scene really touched me deeply and got me thinking about forgiveness. The next morning I was reading in Luke 7 where Jesus is anointed by a sinful woman. The essence of the story is that a woman comes to the house of Simon the Pharisee and anoints Jesus with a jar of perfume, weeping, and wiping his feet with her hair. It is an incredible act of love. Simon the Pharisee is shocked that Jesus would let this woman do this. I love the parable Jesus tells next and the interaction with Simon in Luke 7: 41-43:

Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

Some have read this passage as Jesus then forgiving her sins because of this act. In other words she had to “work” for it. But that doesn’t seem right given the parable he just told. The parable talks about two owing money and both debts are forgiven. Then Jesus illustrates, through a question and Simon’s answer, that the one with the bigger debt will love more. The essence of this story then is that this woman had been forgiven a huge debt (her sin) and she was expressing huge love.

This act of love in response to her recognizing that Jesus was the source of her forgiveness really impacted me. And it was watching the scene in The Thorn of the adulteress woman where she turns after having been forgiven and has the most stunning expression of love and wonder on her face. Although it was just a practice session for an upcoming Easter production, it was incredible to watch. It reminds me of how much I am forgiven every day and what my response should be. I don’t have to earn this forgiveness. Jesus gives it freely and it should motivate our love response. And the more we are forgiven, the greater the love.

Amazed by His Love,

Terence

Well-Lived

This past weekend I went to a memorial service for a man at church who died on December 1, 2014. The program they passed out had the title, “Celebration of a Life Well-Lived.” For what I heard and learned about Gale during this ceremony, that was such an appropriate title. Inside were words indicating his various roles: beloved husband, much loved Dad, much appreciated Father-in-law, and much enjoyed Grandpa of nine grandchildren. Also inside was a tribute written by Gale’s wife. The last line of her tribute really made an incredible impact on me. She writes, “If you were sitting here next to me on this cold December day, I know what you would say to my grieving heart: ‘Don’t weep for me, because I am with Him, to whom I dedicated my life.’” Wow!

 

This ceremony made me think back to various funerals I have been to in my life. I have been to some very dark funerals where you could see there was deep sadness, anger, bitterness, and lack of hope for a person who was taken from a family. And I have been to plenty where it was a celebration of a life well-lived, like Gale’s. Don’t hear me wrong, even in the ones that were a celebration, there was plenty of grieving, tears, and sadness of missing someone who played such an important role to their family. It’s just that you could see the hope and encouragement in their eyes that this person was now with Jesus.

For me, these memorial or celebration services of a believer gone home have been the most amazing worship experiences. You can feel the amazing closeness of our Savior as he wraps the family in his heavenly arms and comforts them. And you can certainly feel the powerful message of selected worship songs as everyone sings with their eyes set on heaven and our Savior. There seems to be a “wonderment” about what the person is doing right then, sitting at the feet of Jesus. And also a sense around knowing that someday, we too will go home.

The other theme that I left with from Gale’s service is that he did not muster up a life well-lived in the last few years when he was diagnosed with a blood cancer. No, he had lived this way since accepting Jesus into his heart. You could see it in his children’s eyes and hear it in their words. This was how Dad lived all the years they knew him. And the impact it made on them and their own families was very tangible. Even on his grandchildren. Near the end of the service, all nine grandchildren came up and sang the song, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus.” The chorus of that song is so wonderful and appropriate for the celebration we watched:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace.

What a fitting way to end this service. It was an amazing celebration of a great man who was going home. I was wonderfully impacted. I left that service with a prayer on my mind, “Lord, help me live a life well-lived.”

Amazed by His Love,

Terence

Following God

The other day I was reading in Joshua Chapter 14 and paused on this verse:

So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly (Joshua 14: 14)

I focused on this verse for a few minutes and pondered the idea of what it really means to follow God. We can often use those words in our own advice to young believers who are wondering what to do with their life. “Just follow God,” we might say. But what does that look like? In the particular instance of this verse in Joshua, the story is about Caleb. Caleb was one of the 12 spies that went into the Promised Land to see if God was telling the truth. Ten spies came back with a report of gloom—the land was filled with powerful people and fortified cities. Joshua and Caleb came back with an optimistic report—the land was as good as God said it would be and they trusted God to help them take it.

So, what do we take from this story about the concept of following God? It really is about following through with what God has told us to do. That is what Joshua and Caleb did. Through Moses, they heard God’s promise about a land flowing with milk and honey and that the Israelites were to enter into this land. They were so focused on that promise that they didn’t even pay attention to the distractions the other spies observed.

The other part of this verse that made me pause is the word “wholeheartedly.” It is not just about a “robotic” form of following God, it is about following God with your whole heart. Do a search in the bible to find out how many times we are told to “love the Lord your God with all your heart.” There are nine times. Jesus specifically instructs us three times in the New Testament. In Mark 12: 30-31, Jesus answers a teacher who is asking what is the greatest commandment. His response is:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.

In fact, in that verse Jesus gives us the ingredients for following God: Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. That’s it. What if you have never heard God say something so clear as what Joshua and Caleb heard about the promised land? You can certainly take this one verse and find enough instruction in it on following God.

I remember hearing about a missionary who woke up every morning and asked God what he should do. If he had a clear impression during his prayer, that is what he focused on that day. If it wasn’t so clear that day, he went back to Mark 12: 30-31, loved God with his whole heart and loved his neighbor as himself. It’s about follow through and it is about being wholehearted—that is how we follow God.

Amazed by His Love,

Terence

Hearing Their Story

Isn’t it easy to write some people off? Really, some people come across with a different attitude, behavior, or perspective than you are used to. Or they are just not living up to your expectations. Sometimes it is easy to just ignore and let it pass. Other times it seems to consume you and you end up “labeling” that person. Why is that? Not sure you have been down this road, but I have and it bothered me. I actually had an implied labeling system of a 1 or a 0 that I was using when interacting with people. If they met my expectations, behaved the way I wanted them to behave, worked the way I wanted them to work, they were a “1” in my book. If they didn’t, then they were a “0” and I often moved on.

A colleague at work saw this in me and very graciously coached me to step back and examine my labeling system. Through this process, I came to realize that others have goals, dreams, wants, needs, and desires just like I have. They have a family history. They have a story on their life that causes them to be unique. Their story is very different than mine. The key point that came out of this is that others who are different than me don’t deserve to be labeled with a 0. Could it be that they are somewhere between a 0 and 1, and I am catching them at their low point? And who is a 1 anyway? We all have a broken part of our story that causes us to behave in ways that might be perceived as a shortcoming.

Then I started thinking about my role in finding someone between a 0 and a 1. Labeling them as 0 (or close to it) is not very helpful. And in fact, I may be totally missing what is going on—the deeper story.  I decided to take some time and dig deeper into someone’s story when I was tempted to label them as a 0. What I discovered is that hearing their story gave me such a better perspective on their own wants, needs, and desires. Hearing their story allowed me to see them in such a better way. And it allowed me to see how I could help them on the journey from 0 to 1. You see, we are all on this journey from being a 0 to a 1. Some of us may be further along than others, but that really isn’t the point. The point is how do we encourage one another in our journey and with our story?

The biblical insights to this reinforced what I needed to do. I was taken to Colossians 3: 12-14 that laid out the entire concept of hearing their story:

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

And Proverbs 25:11 really taught me the power of encouraging words. I love how The Message version puts it: The right word at the right time is like a custom-made piece of jewelry.

Because of this, I no longer label people as 1s or 0s. I really try to hear their story and discover what they are aiming for and what is my role in helping them get there. We all need to hear each other’s stories.

Amazed by His Love,

Terence

Living to be Unoffendable

Unoffendable – that is an interesting word. Not even sure it is a real word. I looked up the root part of that word, offend, and it means “to irritate, annoy, or anger; cause to feel upset; cause resentful displeasure in.” I am guessing that we all have been offended many times in our life. Lately I have been wondering why it is often so easy for me to be offended. It can be with just about anyone: friends, my wife, children, co-workers. You can feel this level of irritation or frustration with them rising up in your mind. Even this aspect of frustration puzzled me. Why do I get so frustrated with certain issues or people? I came to define frustration as this: “frustration is when my expectations of someone are higher than reality.”  Isn’t that true? You have certain expectation of your boss, your spouse, children, or co-workers. When those expectations are not realized it is easy to get frustrated. And sometimes it can irritate and offend you. We let these feelings rise up and overwhelm us. And then we sometimes react in ways we are not proud of. It is an ugly cycle.

Debbie and I have been reading a lot of Gary Thomas, the author of Sacred Marriage and many other books. Gary wrote a blog on Valentine’s Day that gave me some insight on what is going on in this area of being offended and frustration (http://www.garythomas.com/divine-valentines/). This one line was the key to my understanding: “When my heart is filled with God’s love and acceptance, I’m set free to love instead of worrying about being loved.” Gary’s point is that worship sets us free. It meets our most basic needs. For marriage, he applied this point, “the less I receive from God, the more I demand from my spouse.” You could apply that same formula to every relationship in the family, at work, and at church. Another way to say it is, “the less I receive from God, the more likely that I am going to be offended or frustrated by someone.”

Another perspective on the idea that worship sets us free is John Piper’s statement that “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.” It is Piper’s life philosophy, but it is based on 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” How do we become satisfied with God? Through worship and really experiencing how much he loves us. I believe when we really get to the point of understanding how much God loves us, we are less bothered by issues and people around us. We are free to be givers more than demanders. And we also recognize we are all broken and need a savior, and thus the notion that reality of behavior from someone else is not going to equal our expectations. When we are worshiping God and experiencing his deep love for us, our focus is on him. When our focus is on him, the frustrations of this world don’t rise to the level of bothering us.

I haven’t arrived to this level, but I am engaged in the process of getting there. Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent and preparation before Easter. Most people give up something to help them prepare their focus on what Jesus did for us. That is good. Even better is to receive something that helps us be less “offendable.” Only God can do that. And that can only be done by worshiping Him so we are set free to love instead of being offended.   

Amazed by His Love,

Terence